Nov. 24, 1997
Marquette, Dayton Up Next for Sun Devil Women
- ASU vs. Marquette (2-1)
- Saturday, Nov. 29, 7 p.m.
- University Activity Center
- KMVP 860 AM
- ASU vs. Dayton (2-0)
- Sunday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m.
- University Activity Center
- FOX Sports Arizona/KMVP 860 AM
Arizona State continues its three-game homestand this weekend when it hosts Marquette and Dayton Saturday and Sunday. The Sun Devils (0-1) fell 83-92 to defending Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 20 to open their season.
MEDIA INFO: Both games will be carried live on KMVP 860 AM with Kevin Ray (play-by-play) and Jacinda Sweet (analyst) calling the action. The ASU-Dayton matchup will be telecast live by FOX Sports Arizona, and Trey Bender will handle play-by-play duties.
SERIES RECORDS: ASU is 1-0 versus Marquette, recording a 119-72 win over the Golden Eagles on Dec. 5, 1992. The contest was part of the ASU/Dial Soap Classic in Tempe. Sunday's meeting will be the first between the Sun Devils and Dayton. ASU is 3-1 all time vs. Conference USA opponents, and has a 2-0 record against Atlantic-10 teams, with both wins over Temple.
Probable Arizona State Starters
Pos. Cl. Ht. PPG RPG Notable
#14 Kristine Sand F So. 6-0 5.5 2.0 Played in all 28 games in '97
#55 Stephanie Freeman F Sr. 5-10 7.8 4.3 Played in 81 career games
#54 Rachel Holt C So. 6-3 3.3 1.6 Averaged 9.9 min. in '97
#21 Rameeka Lowe G Sr. 5-7 7.5 5.0* Started final 13 games of '97
#3 Rechelle Lang G Jr. 5-9 9.3 3.3* Transfer from Casper JC
* - assists per game
OFF THE BENCH
#4 Leaf Newman G Fr. 5-9 23.0 9.1 Perris (Calif.) HS
#10 Ebony Edwards G Fr. 5-7 22.0 4.0 Arizona 5A Player of Year
#20 Kisha White F Jr. 6-0 - - Walkon from Phoenix, Ariz.
#30 Spring Steed G Sr. 5-10 0.9 0.7 Played in 24 games in '97
#32 Michelle Tom G Jr. 5-8 - - Mid-season transfer in '97
#40 Jennifer Bennett C Fr. 6-3 12.0 13.0 Mead HS (Spokane, Wash.)
#50 Kellie McDanal F Fr. 6-4 12.5 6.7 Evergreen HS (Conifer, Colo.)
QUOTABLES: Coach Charli Turner Thorne - "UCSB did a great job on the transition in the second half. That's an area we need to focus on. We put them on the free-throw line a little too much, but we're a young team that's still working on putting the pieces together." SR G Rameeka Lowe - "On and off the court, everyone on the team has a good relationship and we're willing to work hard for each other. As soon as we learned that we're all there for each other, our defense has come together and started clicking." UCSB Coach Mark French - "(ASU) shot the ball extremely well, and they were just draining threes all over the place. Charli has this program going in the right direction."
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: Marquette went 21-10 last year (10-4 Conf. USA) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Coach Terri Mitchell's first season. Three starters return for the Golden Eagles, including Phoenix product Sidnee Majette(St. Mary's), a senior guard. Marquette is 2-1 on the season, with wins over Northwestern (81-70) and UW-Milwaukee (64-55) and its loss to UW-Green Bay (50-67). SO F Lisa Oldenburg averaged 19.7 pts. and 9.3 reb. in last week's three games. Dayton returns four of its top five scorers from a squad that went 11-16 with a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic-10 Western Division. Coach Clemette Haskins, the daughter of Minnesota men's coach Clem, is in her fourth year as the Flyers' mentor. Dayton's wins have come against Detroit (71-65) and Oral Roberts (66-63). SO G Christi Hester averaged 16.5 points in the first two games
LAST TIME OUT: The tandem of freshman guard Ebony Edwards and senior forward Stephanie Freeman scored 18 points apiece, but the effort fell short as UC Santa Barbara defeated ASU 92-83 in its season opener Nov. 20.
The defending Big West Champions were led by freshman forward Erin Buescher, who paced all scorers with 25 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She was 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, and grabbed nine of her boards in the decisive second half.
The Sun Devils trailed 33-40 after the first stanza, but were outscored 8-2 to begin the second half. ASU pulled to within seven points twice, the last time with 5:52 remaining and the score at 73-66. However, the Gauchos then built their biggest lead (88-70) at the 2:42-mark.
Santa Barbara shot 60.7 percent in the first half, and 55.0 percent (33-for-60) for the game. Edwards and senior guard Rameeka Lowe were a combined 4-for-5 from three-point range in the second half, and Lowe finished with a double-double (10 points and a career-high 10 assists).
UCSB sophomore Stacy Clinesmith gave out a game-high 14 assists.
CHANGE OF PACE?: After averaging 66.8 points a game last year (eighth in the Pac-10), ASU notched 83 points in its season opener. Sun Devil guards scored 47 of those points.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: SR G Rameeka Lowe (Seattle, Wash.) notched the first double-double of her career vs. UCSB, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists. Six of her points came from beyond the arc, as she went 2-for-2 from three-point range.
EB -N- FLOW: FR G Ebony Edwards (Chandler, Ariz.) showed no signs of collegiate debut jitters, tying SR F Stephanie Freeman with a team-high 18 points vs. UCSB. Edwards got her numbers in just 20 minutes, adding six rebounds (with just one turnover) on the night.
WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?: Nine newcomers don the maroon and gold for the first time this year, almost outnumbering the returning letterwinners (5) two to one. The nine new faces are the most on an ASU team since the Pac-10 began sponsoring women's basketball in 1986-87. New names to keep an eye on include junior point guard Rechelle (Georgie) Lang, freshmen guards Leaf Newman (Perris, Calif.) and Ebony Edwards (Chandler, Ariz) and freshman center Jennifer Bennett (Spokane, Wash.).
DID YOU KNOW?: This year's Sun Devil lineup features just 6 1/2 years of Division I experience.
FREEMAN ON THE MOVE: SR G Stephanie Freeman needs just two steals to surpass Ryneldi Becenti for eighth on the ASU all-time chart. With 155 career thefts, Freeman needs just 44 steals to crack the top three.
ASU Career Steals Leaders
1. 291 Cassandra Lander 1980-83
2. 221 Molly Tuter 1994-97
3. 198 Karen O'Connor 1988-91
4. 189 Sandra Hamilton 1981-82
5t. 187 Kym Hampton 1981-84
187 Jovonne Smith 1990-93
7. 170 Nikki Thompson 1991-94
8. 156 Ryneldi Becenti 1992-93
9. 155 Stephanie Freeman 1995-pres.
ON THE TUBE: The Sun Devils will appear on television at least 10 times (with the opportunity for more exposures) in 1997-98, a record for the program and second in the Pac-10:
Nov. 20 UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Nov. 30 Dayton, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Dec. 6 SMU Tourn., 4 p.m. FOX Sports Southwest^
Dec. 21 ASU Wells Fargo, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona^
Dec. 29 Oklahoma, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Jan. 17 Arizona, 2 p.m. FOX Sports Net
Jan. 22 at Orgon State, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Northwest
Jan. 24 at Oregon, 1 p.m. FOX Sports Net
Jan. 31 California, 2 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Feb. 28 at California, 2 p.m. FOX Sports Bay Area
Mar. 7 USC, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
^ - if ASU makes it to the championship game
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE: A full radio contract, which includes coverage of each of the Sun Devils' 28 regular-season contests, is part of the ASU women's basketball package for the first time ever this season. Twenty-four games will be carried on KMVP (860 AM), and the remaining four will air on KTAR (620 AM). All but four of the games will be broadcast live.
TURNING THE CORNER: In 1996-97, head coach Charli Turner Thorne led ASU to its most wins (9) in four seasons.
PAC-10 PREDICTIONS: Pac-10 media tabbed the Sun Devils to finish ninth in the league this year (37 points). Defending champion Stanford was selected to finish first, collecting all 17 first-place votes. (ASU was picked to finish 10th a year ago.) Here's the complete poll, released at Pac-10 Media Day in Los Angeles on Nov. 6:
1997-98 Pac-10 Women's Basketball Media Poll
1. Stanford (17) 6. USC
2. Arizona 7. Oregon State
3. Washington 8. California
4. UCLA 9. ARIZONA STATE
5. Oregon 10. Washington State
KEEPING THEM AT HOME: Four players from Arizona dot the Sun Devil roster for the first time since 1986-87. ASU's players from the Grand Canyon State this year include: two-time Arizona 5A Player of the Year Ebony Edwards (Chandler), Rachel Holt (Buckeye), Michelle Tom (Winslow) and Kisha White (Phoenix).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Ten of the teams on ASU's schedule received votes in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll, including four non-conference squads. Top-25 teams in the poll are No. 3 Stanford, No. 15 Arizona and No. 20 Auburn (who the Sun Devils could meet up with in the ASU Wells Fargo Classic). Other opponents receiving votes are: UCLA, Marquette, Oregon, USC, UC Santa Barbara, Oklahoma State and Washington.
HEAD COACH CHARLI TURNER THORNE: Turner Thorne (Stanford '88), who enters her second year as the Sun Devil mentor, arrived ASU after a three-year stint as head coach at Northern Arizona University. Turner Thorne's career record now stands at 49-60 (.450) in her fifth season, after guiding ASU to its most wins (9) since 1992-93 last year. She led the Lumberjacks to consecutive winning seasons in 1994-95 and 1995-96, the first coach in school history to accomplish that feat. She was 40-40 overall in her three years in Flagstaff. She previously worked as an assistant at Santa Clara and Washington. Turner Thorne, who signed a four-year contract with ASU, is assisted by Mark Lewis, Laura Hughes and Erika Hardwick.